Exclusive-Alleged Israeli Spy Company Heavily Targeted Starlink Users, Sources Say
Researchers said the ad-tech firm was the top bidder on Starlink traffic in more than 100 countries and may have used ads to track users.
- TrendAI, a unit of Tokyo-based cybersecurity company Trend Micro, found that Israeli ad tech firm Discover-Tech heavily targeted users of SpaceX's Starlink satellite service, becoming the No. 1 bidder on Starlink traffic in more than 100 countries.
- Because Starlink terminals sidestep local internet restrictions and communicate across battlefields, tracking them has become a 'cottage industry' for governments worldwide, prompting suspicious bidding patterns by an entity TrendAI codenamed Shadow-Earth-79.
- Canadian cyber watchdog Citizen Lab and New York advertising technology firm Confiant separately identified Discover-Tech, alleging the company abused the ad bidding process to de-anonymize users across sensitive networks belonging to media organizations, governments, and tech firms.
- In response to investigations, Google, Comcast, and other companies removed Discover-Tech from their advertising platforms, while the firm and its CEO did not respond to requests for comment over the past two weeks.
- Reflecting broader industry trends, TrendAI initially avoided naming the firm to prevent 'hype-driven labels,' citing concern that unstable actor names can mislead defenders and trigger inappropriate response actions.
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17 Articles
Researchers have revealed that the Israeli company Discover Tech has intensified targeting Starlink users through advertising auctions in over 100 countries, amid suspicion of using auction data to track and spy on users.
Israeli company Discover-Tech is suspected of using digital advertising to track Starlink users in more than 100 countries.
Israeli ad tech firm heavily targeted Starlink users, sources say
An Israeli ad company showed huge numbers of ads to people using Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, probably to track them. That is what researchers believe, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing six people who know about the work. The researchers work at TrendAI, part of Japanese security firm Trend Micro. The sources said they found that […] This story continues at The Next Web
Israeli company alleged to use ad tech for spying targeted Starlink users
Researchers at TrendAI, a unit of Tokyo-based cybersecurity company Trend Micro, concluded the Israeli company Discover-Tech was one of the biggest sources of digital ads shown to users of Starlink.
Israeli ad technology company Discover-Tech is suspected of using mass targeting of online ads to users of the Starlink satellite internet service to determine their location and track their activity, Reuters reported, citing six sources familiar with the investigation by cybersecurity experts. Researchers from TrendAI, a unit of Trend Micro, found that Discover-Tech was among the largest buyers of ad space targeting Starlink users worldwide. Th…
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